Endomyocardial fibrosis in infancy

Abstract

The patient was a 4-month-old infant, who underwent persistent ductus arteriosus interruption with titanium clips at the age of 13 days and, since the age of 2 months, had crises of hypoxia and hypertonicity. After clinical investigation, the presence of pulmonary hypertension was confirmed and left ventricular inflow tract obstruction was suspected. The patient underwent surgical treatment at the age of 4 months, during which right and left ventricular endocardial fibrosis was identified. The fibrosis was resected, but the infant had an unfavorable clinical evolution with significant diastolic restriction and died on the sixth postoperative day. Anatomicopathological and surgical findings suggested endomyocardial fibrosis, although that pathology is very rare at the patient's age

Early presentation of endomyocardial fibrosis

“…Having read the interesting report by Cilliers et al about a patient with early presentation of endomyocardial fibrosis at the age of 22 months, 1 we would like to make some comments in comparison with one case we reported some years ago. 2 Certainly, Cilliers' case is one of the youngest already reported in the literature. They state that the youngest patient reported was an 18-month-old baby who had the diagnosis based on echocardiographic findings.…”

Republished: Recent advances in the epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of endomyocardial fibrosis in Africa

“…While EMF is often seen in children and adolescents, it may also occur in both infants11 12 and older people 13. A second peak of incidence is found during the reproductive years in women 14.…”